Second Chances
by StoryDiva
Summary: This was written for a Charmed Ficathon. Chris and Leo try to come to terms with the anger and start a new relationship, but Chris isn't sure he should trust his father.


**Title:** Second Chances 

**Author:** storydivagirl [at] hotmail [dot] com 

**Disclaimer: ** not my characters, not my show. Just love Chris..._lots_. 

**A/N: ** Written for a charmed flash fic, requesting Chris and Leo angst/start of a new relationship. Crossposted to both my website ) and livejournal. Feedback always appreciated. 

That old Billie Holiday song was playing, mournful in the background, and once again, Chris was reminded that things were extremely different before he was born. He guessed every child could say that to an extent, but this felt like someone else's family. He watched as his mother danced around the kitchen, humming along in tune with the music, as she put the dishes away. He couldn't recall a time in his life he had ever witnessed such a spectacle from his mother. She was usually too concerned with maintaining order, fighting evil, and pretending not to notice how much Wyatt was changing. She was usually too busy trying to pick up the slack because Leo couldn't be bothered with fatherhood. 

At least not where Chris was involved, Chris thought. The simplest memory caused such an influx of fury to overwhelm him that he remembered why he didn't venture down memory lane that often. His past was better left buried. He couldn't allow himself to be swayed by his mother or aunt's impassioned pleas to give his father a chance nor could he let himself trust Leo because it would only come back to haunt him. Of that, he was certain. 

"Whattya doing?" Phoebe questioned in a sing-song voice. She peered over his shoulder and giggled at her sister before facing Chris and explaining, "Piper wanted to be Paula Abdul when she grew up." 

"Who?" 

Phoebe clutched her chest, but waved him off, "Never mind." Phoebe cleared her throat loudly before entering the kitchen. Piper stopped moving immediately and Phoebe pretended she hadn't noticed anything. Sometimes, Chris decided, his family was insane. She sat down at the table and said, "Paige is still getting ready." 

"Ready?" Chris asked. 

"We're taking Piper out for a last hurrah before she gets too big to fit through a door," Paige replied, walking in from the hall. 

"Thank you so much," Piper countered. She glared at Paige and then focused on Phoebe, "Why did I agree to this again?" 

"That's what I'd like to know," Chris said. He shook his head and said, "Mom, you can't go out without a shield and since you're shieldless" 

"Someone has shield envy," Paige muttered. 

Chris shot her a dirty look, but pretended not to hear his aunt. He said, "On a good day, the three of you are a magnet for trouble. I don't think now is the time to be living it up." 

"Chris, I'm eight months pregnant. I don't think _living it up_ will come into play at any point during the evening." 

"Who will watch, Wyatt?" His aunts looked at him and he threw his hands up in the air, "No way. I've gotplans." 

"Liar," Phoebe replied. She patted his cheek and added, "But it doesn't matter because Leo's going to watch the two of you." 

"The two of us?" 

"We've decided it's time to get past this anger you have toward your father, Chris," Paige stated. The way she said it almost made Chris believe that he didn't have a say in the matter. Then he remembered that this was still _his_ life and that there were reasons for his behavior. None that, despite their best attempts, he was going to share in a kitchen with his two crazy aunts and pregnant dancing mother. 

Chris sighed and brought his head down to rest on the counter. "You're wasting your time." 

"You're allowed to do something for yourself while you're here, Chris. Fixing things with Leo could go a long way to-" 

"Creating a lot of problems. Mostly for me," Chris interrupted. His eyes darted between the three of them before resting on his mother's. She had this nasty habit of looking through him, as though she could see every single thing he was feeling. It had always freaked him out because it meant she could get him to do whatever she wanted. 

"Chris, whatever you're angry with him for-he hasn't done it yet. There's still time for him to fix that, sweetie," Piper stated, patting him on the back and for good measure patting her stomach. 

There it was. His inability to say no. If he were Wyatt he'd have no problem saying no, reducing his mother to tears, or storming off. Maybe there was a method behind all that madness of his, Chris thought, as he heard himself relenting. He replied, "It's not that simple, mom." 

"It won't be as long as you carry around all this crap." 

Chris shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter. I think Leo's realized I'm a lost cause." 

"Not true." 

Chris groaned when he heard the voice and the footsteps as his father joined them in the kitchen. Couldn't Chris do anything now without a group intervention? This was why he had kept putting off telling them-because he knew they would want details and Chris would rather have forgotten most of it. 

"Chris, you're my son. I want us to have a good relationship," Leo stated. He glanced at Piper and asked, "Where's Wyatt?" 

"Upstairs sleeping. He had a play date earlier so he's pretty much wiped out for the rest of the night," she replied. She grinned-a devious and smug smile, Chris noted-and went on, "It'll probably be the two of you for most of the night." She looked at her sisters, with equally diabolical looks on their faces, and said, "And I think we're ready to get out of here." 

"Living it up," Chris repeated. 

She smiled, patted his cheek affectionately, and ordered, "Play nice you two." 

The three sisters instantly headed out of the kitchen lost in chatter. Chris felt terribly uncomfortable, shifting back and forth on the balls of his feet, while Leo stared at him. Leo cleared his throat and finally suggested, "Why don't I order us a pizza?" 

"You don't have to do this." 

"Chris-" 

"I know mom and the others put you up to this, but I think we've said all that we need to." 

"For the record, no one put me up to this. I wanted to spend time with you. You know that, but you're too stubborn to admit it." 

Chris scoffed, "I'm stubborn?" 

"I know I treated you terribly this past year and I might not have lived up to the expectations-" 

Chris laughed mirthlessly. Rage coursed through him and he hated that feeling. It was uncontrollable and everything he tried to avoid becoming, but it seemed to pour out of him naturally whenever he was around his father for too long. He replied slowly, "This is not some young boy fantasy that got crushed when his dad fell off the pedestal, Leo." 

"Then what is it? I can't fix things if you don't tell me how." 

"You shouldn't need me to tell you how," Chris snapped. He moved to the other side of the kitchen, repeating that he would not lose control of his temper. Hecontrol. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and added, "Maybe this was a bad idea." 

"You're stuck with me whether you like it or not, Chris. We need to get past this." 

"It's always about you, isn't it? This has nothing to do with me or doing right by me. You're upset because someone actually can't stand you and it bothers you." 

"What bothers me is that my own son hates me. You're not some random stranger." 

"I might as well be." 

"Chris-" Leo shrugged, throwing his hands up in the air as if to surrender to his son's caustic nature and said, "There is only so much I can do to fix things on my own, Chris. It means a lot to your motherand I think it would mean a lot to you, but you're too scared to admit that." Leo stepped closer and went on before Chris could rebuff him, "And maybe I did that to you and I'm sorry for that, Chris. Because you don't have to be scared of me. I'm your father and I love you." 

Chris bit down on his lip, tasting the familiar tinge of copper from his blood, and fidgeted slightly in place. It was as if his body wanted to move of its own accord and he could almost picture his arms turning against him and hugging his father. No way would he let that happen. He couldn't let himself fall into this whole family thing because it didn't exist in his future. It was a mirage and he couldn't get sucked into it, no matter how appealing it was. 

But he also couldn't pretend that he wasn't moved by what his father had said. He couldn't deny that he had seen his father make more of an effort to get to know him over the past month than he ever had in his twenty-some years and sometimes Chris had to fight really hard not to let go of his anger. 

Chris gritted through his teeth, "Don't do this, Leo." 

"What? Is what I'm saying actually penetrating, Chris?" Leo stepped even closer and Chris wondered if he was under some spell and somehow ended up trapped in an episode of _The Waltons_. Leo went on, "We both care about your mother and your aunts and Wyatt-" 

Chris shook his head and said, "I don't want-" 

"You don't want what?" 

"It's nothing." 

"Chriswould you please talk to me?" 

"Please don't use them to get me to open up to you, okay? There are reasons for everything and I would rather not mess-" 

"You're scared and that's okay, son, but you've got to trust me at some point." Leo closed the remaining distance between them and raised a tentative hand to Chris' shoulder. Chris knew he could push him away and that would probably be the end of it. Chris knew he probably _should_ do that to maintain his faux bravado aura. But a small part of him had always wanted this sort of relationship with his father and he couldn't deny that it would make things a lot easier if he could depend on someone else with all the crap bogging him down. He wouldn't do that to his mother and his Aunts needed to focus on all the evil out there. 

"I don't really hate you," Chris admitted with a shrug. He noticed Leo smile, but his own face remained neutral and he said, "I just don't know you." 

It was Leo's turn to sigh and he said, "We could work on that." 

"You're not going to bail on me, are you?" 

"Chris, whatever I did to you, I'm sorry. I truly am because you're a good man and you're a good brother and it's a shame to think I didn't know that." 

Chris felt his lips tugging into a smile. What was it Bianca used to say to him-flattery was the key to his heart? He said, "Pizza's fine by me as long as there are no anchovies anywhere in the vicinity-" 

"How did you know I like-" Leo's voice trailed off when Chris shot him a look. Leo rolled his eyes and said, "They're a great source of protein." 

"If you can get passed the horrible smell and the gag reflex that kicks in." 

"Which I take it, you can't." 

"Most people can't, dad," he replied. He hadn't realized what he had said until he noticed the stunned smile plastered on his father's face. 

Leo patted Chris on the arm and said, "Why don't you go pick out a movie for us to watch and I'll check on Wyatt and order us a non-anchovy pizza?" 

Chris nodded and watched his father hurry off toward the steps with a spring in his movements. Chris wasn't sure what to make of all this except that he could see his aunts hovering over him with I-told-you-so looks etched onto their faces. It wasn't like he expected the world from his father. He wasn't sure he could simply forget all those years of neglect and personal doubt he endured, but he could at least try to make some new memories. It wouldn't be easy. He would probably falter once or twice in this...whatever...with Leo, but maybe it was time he had a little faith in his family. Hell, maybe he'd even be able to get his family back on track while he was here. 

That wasn't too much to ask for. 

Right? 

Chris gulped down his fears and decided that maybe the payoff would be worth it if he just trusted his father. He grabbed two sodas from the refrigerator and decided now was as good as any time to give it a try. At this point, he didn't have much left to lose. 

_{Fin}_


End file.
